My keynote at the National Association of Govenrment Web Professionals (NAGW) in Albuquerque on September 23, 2015. I talk about government as a platform, but also about the Code for America Digital Front Door process for building a user-centric website. Be sure to read the notes, which contain the text of the talk.

1. Government as a Platform
Tim O’Reilly
@timoreilly
NAGW
September 23, 2015

2. 2008: Technology Changed Politics
Technology helped President Obama get
elected.
Could technology also help the nation do
a better job of actually delivering services
to its residents?
2

3. Could it also change how government works?
What if we brought
together government
innovators and tech
innovators to work
together on finding
solutions to big
problems?
3

9. Government as a Platform
9
Government as a platform means an
end to the design of only complete,
closed “applications.” The
government should provide
fundamental applications, and
services on which we, the people,
can build additional applications.

10. 10
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/263795/number-of-available-apps-in-the-apple-app-store/

11. Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
12
Dwight Eisenhower

12. High speed broadband
13
Laying fiber under the streets is the 21st century equivalent of
building superhighways, electric grids, and modern sanitation
infrastructure

13. Weather Data
14
Up to date weather info?
A marvel from Google?
Actually, by way of government
institutions such as NOAA (US)and
other government agencies around
the world.

14. GPS: A 21st century platform launched in 1973
Massive investment for uncertain return
Policy decisions can have enormous impact
Marketplaces take time to develop, and go in
unexpected directions
15

15. “We’ve opened up huge amounts of
government data to the American people,
and put it on the Internet for free.... And
what’s happening is entrepreneurs and
business owners are now using that data
-- the people’s data --to create jobs and
solve problems that government can’t
solve by itself or can’t do as efficiently.”
16
President Barack Obama

16. 17

17. @timoreilly #BitcoinSummit

20. Don’t make people find the data.
Make the data find the people.

27. Sixty per cent of the world's
railways use 4 ft 8 1⁄2 inch
standard gauge, developed by
George Stephenson in 1822.
Who sets the gauge rules the world
31
http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrns305.htm

28. You standardize railroads by building tracks
“The strategy is delivery!”
32
UK GDS Director
Mike Bracken

29. 33

30. "The legitimate object of government is to
do for the people what needs to be done,
but which they cannot, by individual
effort, do at all, or do so well, for
themselves.”
-Abraham Lincoln, July 1, 1854
34

31. How Do You Build a Platform?
• Build something that
everyone uses that you
own and control 
• Simple data standards
• APIs
• APIs
GTFS
LIVES
Road Closures
Parking
Lots more!

32. 36

33. 37

34. 38
“A platform beats an application every time.”
Tim O’Reilly and Jeff Bezos
Photo: Duncan Davidson

35. Jeff’s Memo
39
• “All teams will henceforth expose their data and functionality through service
interfaces.
• Teams must communicate with each other through these interfaces.
• There will be no other form of inter-process communication allowed: no direct linking,
no direct reads of another team’s data store, no shared memory model, no back-doors
whatsoever. The only communication allowed is via service interface calls over the
network.
• It doesn’t matter what technology they use.
• All service interfaces, without exception, must be designed from the ground up to be
externalizable. That is to say, the team must plan and design to be able to expose the
interface to developers in the outside world. No exceptions.
• Anyone who doesn’t do this will be fired.”

36. Create a modular set of fundamental services
that can be used like building blocks
40

37. You must build on them yourselves.
41

38. And only then open them up to the world.
42

39. Wholesale vs. Retail
Wholesale Retail

40. Wholesale vs. Retail
Wholesale Retail

41. Write RFPs to require government sites to be built on top of
internal APIs that can also be used to support external 3rd
party sites.
45

42. 46

43. Language from the recreation.gov RFP
5.3. Public Interface Support Services
The system shall be designed in such a way that it is easy for third parties to access the data and
information contained within the Recreation.gov system in machine-readable formats, so that third
parties may easily integrate this information into their applications, websites, products and services.
All elements of Section 5.3. shall be included in the R1S system at “Go-Live”.
The Contractor shall make it easy for a user of a third party application or website that has chosen to
integrate with Recreation.gov to search for inventory and real time availability, and complete a
reservation.
47

44. 5.3.1. Information Sharing
Objective: Third parties and members of the public shall be easily able to receive access to the
sharing service following Government and industry best practices, such as self-provisioning. The
information will play key roles in attracting new and returning site visitors, informing and educating
visitors on a wide-range of topics and providing the basis of end-to-end travel planning experience.
The Contractor shall deliver automated and manual services in machine-readable formats for the
sharing of the consolidated recreation information described herein.
48

45. 5.3.1. Information Sharing (continued)
The Contractor shall ensure the data available via the sharing service represent the most current
data available on Recreation.gov, including (but not limited to) recreation area information, maps,
photos, activities, links to additional resources, specific reservable inventory availability, and – when
available – information about specific pieces of inventory (i.e. campsite descriptions). In general, all
of the information available to users of Recreation.gov itself shall be made available to third parties
via the sharing service.
The sharing service shall provide a method for third parties to search available inventory using
common search criteria such as date range, location, site type, and other attributes. In general, the
same search capabilities provided to users of Recreation.gov itself shall be made available to third
parties via the sharing service.
.
49

46. 5.3.1. Information Sharing (continued)
The Contractor shall ensure the following information / data is not available via the sharing service:
Personally-Identifiable-Information from individual users, such as name, address, and birth date
User financial information such as credit card or bank account number
50

47. 5.3.2. Third Party Sales Strategy
Objective: Users of the third party applications, websites and services shall be able to easily initiate
transactions and complete reservations in the R1S system with a minimum of hassle or
complications following travel and hospitality industry best practices.
In order to provide the best experience for the user and insure a clear path for future
innovation, the Contractor shall offer technology that facilitates the ability for users to initiate
and complete reservations from within third party services.
51

48. The Government has identified interest by commercial travel and recreation planning companies
that help facilitate Recreation.gov transactions as a part of a commercial endeavor in which they
could earn commissions on the inventory they help sell. This indicates that such an arrangement
could benefit both the Government and the Contractor, by creating an additional sales & marketing
channel for increasing the number of reservations processed using the system.
The travel and hospitality industry, where such third-party sales channels and commission systems
are the norm, provides numerous examples of how such a commission system could work. Most of
these systems involve some sort of “per-transaction” fixed or percentage-driven commission paid to
participating third parties that originate reservations.
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49. @timoreilly #BitcoinSummit

52. 56

63. Jeff Bezos had one big advantage
Jeff Bezos
67

64. "No exceptions.
Anyone who doesn’t do this will be fired."
68

65. @timoreilly #BitcoinSummit
Photo: Steve Jurvetson

66. c4a.me/dfd

67. c4a.me/dfd

69. c4a.me/dfd

72. Our Vision
Whether it's recyclables that we can use
again, yard waste that we can turn into mulch,
or items we haul to the landfill, we are always
looking for ways to keep the Bluegrass
beautiful. Our work is not just about getting rid
of things, it's about Lexington's quality of life,
its health, and the look of our community.
Lexington, KY - Before

73. AAfter
Not as pretty, but focused
on exactly what citizens
actually want to know

79. “A typical city website today is about the city, but the site
should be the city, doing the people’s business online.”
- Cyd Harrell, Code for America

80. @timoreilly #BitcoinSummit
Photo: Steve Jurvetson

81. Most searched-for services
1. Find contact information for city officials
2. Find the time and agenda for the next City Council
meeting
3. Use or reserve a public amenity (e.g. a rec center)
4. Make an online payment
5. File a public safety report (e.g. report a stolen bike)
6. Report a problem (e.g. request a streetlight repair)
7. Apply for a development permit
8. Apply for a business license
9. Find employment opportunities with the city
10. File a public information request
c4a.me/dfd

86. #Accela @timoreilly

87. 52,000 CalFresh clients
2x Growth
30% Churn

93. @timoreilly #BitcoinSummit
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94. c4a.me/dfd

96. DRAFT

97. It’s no one’s job to
speak for the user.

98. It’s no one’s job to
speak for the user
but yours.

99. TITLE if you want